FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a device capable of picking a part from a first station and thereafter placing and releasing such part in a second station. Such devices are commonly use in automation applications and called "pick and place mechanisms."
Mechanisms of this general type normally include a part holding device mounted on a pick and place machine's carriage, being adaptive to lift, then, shift from a first station to a second station, then, descend. First, parts are gripped by the part holding device, then (1)lifted up, (2)shifted to second location, and (3)descended, the part holding device then releases the part. Motions (1)(2)(3) are provided by the pick and place machine. The part holding device could be a suction cup, an electromagnet or a gripper. Depending upon part orientation at the first and second stations, the axis of motions(1) and (3) could be parallel or angular with each other.